the day i got the call isn't what i could call the "happiest day of my life". it was more solemn than anything.
still, when they told me that they found the possible location of missing person coraline delacruz, i was over the moon.
it wasn't until the internet found out that my celebration was cut short.
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no. no, no, no, no—
the replies made me feel sick. onslaughts of people being glad she's gone, the rest of them being upset at me for keeping this a secret. a select few were worried for her well-being and my mental health.
this was the last thing i wanted. i didn't want the internet to know. i didn't want it to scare her even further. like muscle memory, i rushed to my computer, and called the only people i knew could help.
—
two weeks had passed, and tommy closed the trunk of my parent's minivan with a loud thud. "we leave tomorrow right?"
i nodded as everyone else got in the car. "i'll drop you guys off at your bnb, and i'll be there agaain tomorrow at 8am." i paused, my knuckles turned white as i gripped the steering wheel. "we also have one more person to stop by. i need to ask them something."
"who?" tubbo furrowed his brows, peeking over the passenger's seat, only to be scolded by the person occupying it, wilbur, to buckle his seatbelt.
"ford. i want to ask them if they would join us with looking." i began to pull out of the airport parking lot.
"uhm? no?" tommy scoffed. "they were a dick to you. absolutely not."
jack nodded in agreement, "yeah, if they want to look for coraline so badly they can go on their own."
through the rear-view mirror i saw niki roll her eyes, "no, i think getting ford is the right thing to do. coraline is their best friend."
wilbur agreed with her, while everyone else groaned.
"we're getting ford, thats final." i spoke with a stern tone as i hit the freeway.
when we arrived at the trailer park, an all-too familiar sense of grief coursed through my veins. as i pulled into the driveway of the zhang residence, the old home of the delacruzes stared at me with distaste from three houses down.
"wait here. ill be back," i hastily unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car, in a rush to get out of sight of the place where i once picked up boxes of things from the yard for my girlfriend.
i knocked on the front door, greeted by barking dogs and yelling in chinese, both followed by footsteps and the door opening.
i was greeted by an older woman, her hair was black, and neatly pulled into a high bun, held together by what seemed to be two traditional chopsticks. she spoke in chinese, something i couldn't understand, and soon she was replaced by ford.
the real shock to me, however, was ford's expression. while i expected a cold stare, i was only met with a sheepish look of regret.
"do you want to come in?" they moved to the side, making room for me to enter.
i nodded a thank you and stepped inside, only to be quickly yelled at.
"aye! shoes off first! geez i swear to god you're just like corey." ford pointed to the shoe rack.
i muttered a sorry, and quickly took of my shoes. once done so, i followed ford to the couch—or bench.
"careful!" ford yelled out, moving me out of the way of a low hanging paper lantern.
this house was not decorated with tall people in mind.
we sat down across each other, an awkward tension sat in the air as silence.
"do you want something to drink?" ford began, " i can put a kettle on for tea... we have oolong, chun mee..."
"just regular water is fine, thank you."
they nodded and made their way to the kitchen. i took the moment to take in the interior of the home. the shabby trailer park disappeared when you entered. any trace of "white americana" was replaced with traditional chinese decor. memoirs and relics of family members scattered the home. i bit my tongue as i looked at what seemed to be an urn next to a photo of a man in military uniform.
the pitter-patter of claws against the wood tiling got my attention. a large, wrinkly, tan dog made its way to me, sitting at my feet. i reached my hand out for it to smell, and it returned kisses to my fingers. i let out a small laugh and pet it, smiling.
ford returned with two glasses and a pitcher, setting them down on the low, red, wooden table.
"i see you've met ming," they smiled.
"ming? thats a nice name."
"his full name is ming-hua, but when i was younger i only called him ming, so it just stuck i guess."
"what's it mean?" i looked up from the old dog.
"hm?"
"ming-hua, whats it mean?"
"brilliant," ford smiled sadly, "it means 'brilliant'. my uhm—my dad named him, actually."
i nodded. silence filled the air once again, this time, i broke it.
"so, i kinda have literally everyone waiting in the car..."
"what?" they furrowed their brows, "what do you mean everyone?"
"uhm— tommy, tubbo, wilbur, jack, and niki. phil and kristen are going to meet us at the air bnb since they didn't have to fly in..."
"you're going to go look for her, aren't you?" they set down their glass of water.
i nodded, "i want you to come with."
ford's face turned to shock, "what? why? i was such an asshole to you—"
"that was nearly a year ago," i cut them off, "besides, you're her best friend. you deserve to come."
they looked down into their cup, staring at the reflection in the water, "when do you leave?"
"tomorrow. i'm going to get everyone tomorrow and we'll start driving at 8am. well—hopefully 8am."
ford nodded, "i'll go," they looked up at me, a soft smile resting on their thin lips.
